


Pictionary

by koalathebear



Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: Ensemble Cast, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-28 16:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/309584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalathebear/pseuds/koalathebear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set at an unspecified time during season 2. Brennan's introduced to the mysterious complexities of Pictionary and Booth learns that it's a mistake to play Pictionary with the Squint Squad - especially Brennan. Or maybe not. Just me being goofy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pictionary

" _That_ does not look anything like a dingo," Brennan protested, staring down at the piece of paper in perplexity.

Booth looked exasperated.

"Look, Zach guessed it right" Booth told her.

"But she's right, it really doesn't look like a wild dog indigenous to Australia," Hodgins agreed, studying the page closely. "Looks like some kind of lizard, actually."

"I would have guessed it," Angela said consolingly. "Better than you assuming I knew what an anthrax spore looks like," she told him pointedly.

Hodgins looked very offended.

Cam smiled. "Don't look at me - everyone recognised my drawing of an ambulance!"

"I don't get it," Brennan said shaking her head and Zach pointed at the piece of paper.

"See this? This represents Australia."

"Good egghead," Booth said approvingly and Zach continued. "And this squiggle on the right .." he ignored Booth's glare. "That represents an animal, so you know that it's an Australian animal."

"But - "

"Clearly it's not a kangaroo, emu, koala or platypus, so by a process of elimination I concluded that it must be a dingo," Zach explained earnestly.

"Was he just dissing my drawing?" Booth demanded.

"Yup," Hodgins said at the same time Cam and Angela said: "Of course not."

"But Angela's picture at least looked like a cow udder," Brennan pointed out.

"She's an artist!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Look sweetie, to be honest, Pictionary has nothing to do with the ability to draw," Angela explained patiently.

"I'll say," Brennan muttered, glaring at Booth who glowered back at her.

"It's all about enabling your team mates to guess in the shortest time possible what it is you're trying to convey."

"Well then from pure logic alone, Booth should have at least made an effort to make sure his drawing resembled a dog," Brennan argued.

"Jeez Bones," Booth said in exasperation.

Cam opened her mouth to try to explain and then glanced at Zach. "Dr Addy - please do the honours."

Zach gaped at her and then thought for a moment. "Dr Brennan - you're familiar with pictographs, are you not?"

"Yes of course - a pictogramme or pictograph is a symbol that represents a concept, object, activity, place or event by illustration. Pictography is a form of writing whereby ideas are conveyed by way of drawings or paintings. It forms the basis for hieroglyphs."

"Exactly - now think of Pictionary as using pictographs to enable your teammates to guess what the word is," Zach told her.

"But a pictogram is supposed to actually resemble what it signifies," Brennan contradicted him. " _That_ is a blob," she said pointing at Booth's drawing.

Booth stared over at Cam who made a rueful smile and nodded. "She's right, you know."

"But an ideograph is a picture that represents represent ideas," Zach told Brennan.

"But if you're using a something that is an abstract symbol rather than a picture, it cannot be considered a true pictogram," Brennan disagreed. Everyone in the room suppressed a smile except Booth who groaned out loud.

"OK, whose bright idea was it to spend Friday evening playing Pictionary?"

"Booth - I think it was yours. You said that Dr Brennan needed a crash course in pop culture," Cam said tactfully. "Although she did mop the floor with you in Clue," Cam reminded him.

"All right, Dr Brennan, think about it a different way. How about depictions of the Venus symbol in the Maya and other Indian cultures," Zach suggested. "These have different variants, but all are capable of conveying the same notion."

"That's true, although there are generally two principal forms for the symbol of the planet Venus ...."

"Yes, but as you know the North American symbols used to represent or to refer to Venus and/or stars can vary. Sometimes a rhomboidal figure is used as a representation of the morning or evening star. Other times it's something else."

"Go on," Brennan said, listening intently. "Ignore him," she said as Booth exclaimed: "North American _rhomboidal figures?_ " in disbelief. "Can we just speak English!"

"Remember how Paleolithic cave art was the first evidence of a mental image in the brain being transformed into a tangible visible image on a wall?"

"Yes? Although apes are able to imitate actions, they have never acquired the ability to transpose internal images from their mind into drawings. Cro-Magnon animal portraits suggest that ancient human artists had a concept of time and other more complex ideas."

"Maybe we should just make Dr Brennan read the instructions herself instead of trying to explain," Hodgins suggested. "At this rate, we'll have entered a new geologic period before we get to continue this game - and for my part I'm quite fond of the Quaternary Period."

"Well given that in a recent revision of the international classification of geological time periods, the Quaternary was subsumed into the Neogene ....." Zach started to argue.

" _I_ know that! I was one of the people who resisted it!" Hodgins protested, looking offended.

"Guys! Time out!" Cam told them sternly and they subsided into silence although continued to glare at one another.

"OK, let's see if I can explain. How about this ..." Angela suggested. "Remember how Paleolithic cave drawings are more complex and realistic than the artwork of much later Neolithic cultures? They're very life-like while the much more recent Neolithic drawings look as if they were drawn by a five year old."

"Yes, that's because the cave artists lacked language, had more primitive minds and needed to make their drawings lifelike. The Neolithic cultures although they used very minimalistic stick-like silhouettes actually had a more advanced intelligence that enabled them to condense images but still retain the essence of the original object ...."

"Exactly!" Angela pointed out to her. "Remember, some people say that copying only needs careful observation, good muscle control, five senses, and a good memory whereas more abstract figures are better able to depict complex, abstract ideas.

Booth frowned. "Wait up, is she trying to say that stick figures are more complex than Da Vinci?" Booth demanded.

"Not exactly," Cam said, looking amused.

"Think back to the Coso Mountains of eastern California, Dr Brennan," Zach reminded her.

"Ah yes, the Coso Mountains of eastern California," Hodgins said sarcastically and grimaced as Angela elbowed him in the ribs sharply.

Brennan sat up straight and then picked up the pencil. "Oh, I see .."

She sketched lightly. "The sun symbol has several forms ..." She sketched circle rays as concentric circles and also a circle surrounded by dots. "And this is the snake which was a symbol of water and fertility in many Native American mythologies. Sometimes it was drawn realistically with a head and tail but sometimes it appeared as a simple wavy line which might also symbolise a river."

"Now you're talking!" Angela exclaimed in satisfaction.

Brennan sketched a concentric spiral. "In some cultures, this has a special significance as the Place Of Emergence, being symbolic of the centre of the cosmos or the Mother Earth navel from which the earliest people emerged."

"Yes," Zach told her. "And the idea of the game is to make sure you use symbols and images that your team-mates would recognise. For instance, there is no point expecting Agent Booth to recognise ancient animal totems or ... representations of molecular structures."

"I should have known better than to play Pictionary with a bunch of Squints," Booth said bitterly. "OK, that's it - we're playing now and please do not draw any navels," Booth told Brennan firmly.

"You're not just bad at drawing, you're really bossy," Brennan complained. "Is it our turn again?"

"Yes, because I guessed correctly that that was a dingo, the turn remains with us," Zach explained to her. "I'll draw this time," he proposed.

He selected a card and also rolled the difficulty die. "I am required by the rules to draw this next diagram with my eyes closed," he told Brennan formally.

"I had assumed that that's what the symbol of a closed eye represented," Brennan told him politely.

"Just draw, Zach," Hodgins told him.

They watched intently as Zach painstakingly sketched what resembled a set of stairs and an arrow pointing downwards.

"Downstairs," Brennan and Booth said at the time.

"Correct. Now it's Dr Brennan's turn to draw," Zach announced.

Brennan studied the card carefully.

"Please - no fertility symbols," Booth admonished her.

She ignored him and began to sketch the outline of something long. Just as she was adding a tooth, Booth guessed,"Alligator."

Everyone gaped at him, including Brennan. "That's correct - but how did you guess? I've barely started ...."

"My turn to draw," Booth announced briskly as moved their piece five spaces forward and rolled the dice before selecting a card.

"Pie!" Brennan guessed just as Booth finished drawing a circle.

Everyone stared at Booth. "Surely she's not right?" Cam demanded. Booth nodded, also looking very disbelieving.

Half an hour later, Angela, Hodgins and Cam looked at one another. "Zach - you're joining our team."

"Four against two?" Brennan asked.

"You guessed 'treehouse' from a _dot_!" Angela exclaimed.

"It seems only fair when you two appear to share a brain," Hodgins said sourly.

Booth glanced over at Brennan. "Guess it's just you and me, Bones," Booth told her.

"Guess so."

"Got a problem with that?" he asked her, a smile in his eyes.

She smiled back. "Nope."

"We can take them," he told her. "Piece of cake."

Brennan smiled. "Think so?"

"Absolutely. Ready to take some names and kick some ass?"

"May I remind you that alpha male machismo is out of place at a Pictionary game," Cam said, looking amused.

Booth's retort was drowned out by the laughter that filled the room.

  
**End**   



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